In accordance with the Fair Trading Act 2015 (FTA), the functions of the Trade Licensing Authority have been transferred and subsumed within the remit of the Office of Fair Trading and shall be undertaken by the Business Licensing Authority (BLA).

Licensing requirements

Under the FTA any business wishing to:

trade in Gibraltar, be it wholesale or retail; or

to provide a service in Gibraltar,

must hold a business licence issued by the BLA (unless the relevant business is already licensed by separate local legislation, please see below).

Business licensing classes

The FTA creates the following business licensing classes as set out in Schedule 3:

A. Trade to include, but not limited to, the buying or selling whether by wholesale or retail, of any goods by way of a business and also means the importing of any goods into Gibraltar in commercial quantities;

List of goods

The list has been prepared by the OFT in conjunction with HM Customs. You can find the relevant application forms at the bottom of this page.

Customs and importation of goods

A Business Licence is necessary for a business to obtain a Customs code for the importation of goods in commercial quantities into Gibraltar. It is a legal requirement for any Business registered in Gibraltar to obtain a Customs registration number in order to be included within the Customs database. Without this registration number the Business will not be allowed to import any goods in its name. See the HM Customs section of the Single Point of Contact for more information.

Licences for services

Specifying the service to be provided

Applications for a licence to provide services under B. must identify which of the services, i to xv, they shall be providing. If the service the business is to provide is not within the list the applicant should specify what the alternative service is in the application form in the 'Other (please specify)' box provided.

It is important that the BLA understands what type of services will be provided by the business. It is therefore essential that each application provides a full description of the services to be provided in the application form. If the information is not sufficient for the BLA this it may delay the processing of the application while the BLA gets in contact with the applicant to find out more information about the type of services to be provided. If in doubt provide as much information as possible about the type of business to be carried out.

Business premises

Pursuant to subsection 60(2) of the FTA, all businesses in Gibraltar are required to carry on their business from premises which are appropriate for the intended use of that business. Businesses are required to produce proof that they can occupy the premises at the time of their application to the BLA. These are normally tenancy agreements or leases and should be for a minimum term of 12 months.

Unless the requirements for a premises are waived (see below), business licences are issued in respect of the business premises and allow the applicant to conduct the business from those premises. Thus, prior to submitting an application for a Business Licence, applicants should ensure suitable commercial premises have been acquired. Without suitable commercial premises the licence cannot be issued.

Businesses from home

Subsection 60(8) of the FTA stipulates that "a licence shall not be granted to any premises which are residential Government premises, nor to any non-Governmental premises under which the terms of the title deeds to such premises restrict commercial activities to be carried on from such premises”. A business cannot therefore operate from a home unless the title deeds or head lease of the home do not restrict its use for commercial activity.

Premises waiver

Businesses that do not need premises from which to operate may apply for a waiver from the requirement of subsection 60(2) pursuant to subsection 60(9) of the FTA. An application for such a waiver should be clearly set out in Form 1a (see below).

The grant of a business licence under a premises waiver does not grant the licence-holder any right to operate their business from any premises that are residential Government premises, or from non-Governmental premises under which the terms of the title deeds restrict commercial activities. Furthermore, businesses operating without a premises are required to obtain separately all necessary approvals and consents from the headlessor or freehold owner of any premises from which the licence-holder is to operate all or any part of their business.

The granting of a waiver from the requirement to have premises is a matter for the BLA to determine based on the information received with the relevant application. If you wish to apply for a premises waiver you will therefore be required to provide information about how, in your view, your business can operate without a premises. This can be provided in a letter accompanying the application.

Premises waivers will not be granted to traders or businesses who are required to hold stock or physical documentation e.g. employees records.

Co-existence of two businesses in same premises

Subsection 60(6) of the FTA permits businesses to share business premises where the BLA, in its sole discretion, is of the opinion that any licences granted in respect of the premises can co-exist in a compatible manner.

If you wish to apply for co-existence would therefore suggest that you provide information about how, in your view, the businesses can both operate in the same premises. This can be provided in a letter accompanying the application.

Postal address

The OFT may only accept postal addresses in Gibraltar with applications.

Persons licensed under separate legislation

Business or professions regulated by any other enactment shall not require a separate licence under the FTA to carry on that business or profession. This includes, but is not limited to, a person carrying on investment business, a regulated activity or a controlled activity as defined in the Financial Services (Investment and Fiduciary Services) Act, a Supervisory Act or the Financial Services (Moneylending) Act, a gaming operators licensed and regulated by the Gambling Act 2005, licence holders under the Leisure Areas (Licensing) Act and port operators with a Port Operator's Licence issued by the Gibraltar Port Authority.

Application process

Notices

Any person intending to apply for a new licence, an extension to an existing licence or a transfer of a licence to another premises must, in accordance with section 73 of the Fair Trade Act, first give notice to the public of their intention to make the relevant application. This gives the public an opportunity to object to the application being granted.

Notices of an intention to make an application are made by publishing two completed copies of the following relevant forms:

The first publication must be made in the Gibraltar Gazette. This publication is arranged directly through the OFT at its offices in Suite 975, Europort. The fee for publishing a notice in the Gibraltar Gazette is £20. The cut-off time for publications in the weekly Gazettes published every Thursday is noon on the previous Friday.

The second publication must be made in any newspaper circulating in Gibraltar at the time. This is arranged by the applicant directly with the relevant newspaper. Prices may vary between local newspapers however these are normally in the region of £50 to £70.

Please note that publishing these notices does not constitute an application (see below).

Please also note that the notice should include up to date contact details and a mandatory postal address from Gibraltar. Postal addresses from other jurisdictions are not accepted.

Applications for the transfer of an existing licence to another person are not required to publish notices and these applications may be submitted directly to the OFT using Form 2d (see below).

Applications

Seven days after the date of the latest notice of an intention to make an application has been published (see above), the applicant may then submit a completed copy of ones of the following application forms:

Should the premises from which a business shall be carried out require alterations, the relevant planning permission must be sought by making an application to to the Department of Town Planning & Building Control (Suite 631, Europort) prior to applying for a business licence.

For relevant fees please see below.

Objecting to applications

Any person who wishes to object to the issue of a licence may, in accordance with section 74 of the Fair Trading Act, give notice of his objection within seven days from the date on which the relevant notice has been published.

The objector must give notice of their objection to the issue of the relevant licence to:

to the person named as the applicant in such notice of their objection .

The objection must be made using the relevant Form No 3 (see forms below). The filing fee for an objection is £90.

Unlicensed businesses

A person who trades without a valid Business Licence, or who contravenes the Fair Trading Act may be guilty of an offence and may be liable on summary conviction to a fine and/or a continuing fine.

The OFT has systems in place to identify those businesses who may be operating without a business licence. If you identify a business which you believe is operating without a licence please contact us and we will investigate it.

Fees

The following fees are applicable in respect of matters under the Act, namely issuing of, or renewal of business licences:

(a) Fee for an application for a new licence for a single business class

£150

(b) Fee for the renewal of an existing licence with a single business class

£100

(c) Fee for an application for a provisional licence – start ups

£95

(d) Fee for each additional business class included on an application for a new licence

£90

(e) Fee for an application to extend the scope of an existing licence by each additional business class

£90

(f) Fee for application to transfer licence to other premises

£90

(g) Fee for application to transfer licence remaining on the same premises

£90

(h) Objection filing fee

£90

(i) Fee for each additional business class included on a renewal for an existing licence

Cancelling your business licence

If you wish to cancel you business licence you may do so by submitting a cancellation form at the OFT's public counter.

Further guidance

For further guidance about the various forms and how to complete and submit these please refer to the OFT's guidance notes.

We trust you have found the information provided above useful. If you have any questions however please do not hesitate to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.or make an enquiry with the Business Support team.